Two Steps From Hell
by ThePhantomPixie
Summary: "Are you sure?" "Da mila moya" The foreign words never failed in sending shivers down her spine, it was amazing how such a simple thing turned the normally bookish girl into a quivering mess. Viktor has always loved his young Gryffindor, but when she is in danger will he manage reach her in time? Will she forgive him after so long?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**

I do not own Harry Potter®™. All Characters and Locations belong to J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., Bloomsbury, and Scholastic respectively. All original character are products of the author, as is the premise and plot. Copyright infringement is not intended and I make no money from posting this story.

—–

It felt like they had been running forever, never sleeping. The nights and days melded together in one large race against time when a deadline had not been set. The fall of _The Dark Lord _was close but never close enough to step back an evaluate what was happening. When the world was cowering behind their cushions and begging for their lives to be spared they had been sleeping rough wherever their feet and wands took them; praying that their luck had not finally ran out. Tonight was no exception. They felt easier running in the dark, where the lack of sunlight would shield them from the horrors that followed, tracking them. Waiting for the tiniest of mistakes to be made so that they could be captured. And eliminated. Had this not all stemmed from a night discussing their next move, the young Miss Granger would not be so paranoid. But when Ronald had said he had been hearing voices in the woods at night Hermione took the executive decision that they _wouldn't_ sleep. They would run until their bodies sagged with exhaustion and their feet bled if that was what it took. She would have no more chances if they failed now.

"Come on Ron!" She hissed, looking back to find her comrade stumbling in the undergrowth. Muttering about some stupid roots which kept tripping him up. This made her stop sharply, the boys giving her a worried, perplexed look.

"Hermione?" Harry whispered, looking back at her and catching the look of utmost fear on her face. One that he had not seen in a long time. He watched as her hand flew to her chest and she took a deep breath. "They found us." She said tearfully, not even finishing her breath before screams of spells were being thrown at the trio and she fell to the ground with a _thud_. The concerned shouts of her friends falling on deaf ears as they too, dropped to the ground. With that, the forest of Dean fell silent.

**_Almost 2000 Miles Away …_**

"Mama, I do not understand vhy I must take old … trinkets from home. I vill still come back vhen season is over"

"Do not speak back, potomstvo. I do not vant you to go, but if you must then I insist you vait until all things from old room transported."

"I have not looked at some of these in very long time, Mama." He said, absently picking his way through the antique cherry wood box that held all of the things he felt needed kept safe at one time or another. But like a pensieve, when he put something in the memory of its meaning faded.

"Vell, it is perhaps time to visit past. See vhat you vant to throw away." His mother clucked, putting her hand into the box and bringing out different pieces of jewellery. "…Funny …" She muttered, singling out a particularly heavy stone pendant. The colour of the stone dark, almost like a bloodstone. "I never seen this one before …" However it was snatched from her hand almost immediately. A strangled gasp coming from her son. "Ne!" he cried, fishing out his wand from the holster on his leg and giving his mother a pained expression before Disapparating with a loud Crack!.

_~*~_  
_2 years previously_

_"Are you sure?" _

_"Da mila moya" The foreign words never failed in sending shivers down her spine, it was amazing how such a simple thing turned the normally bookish girl into a quivering mess. The effects of her year using a time turner had meant that she was registered as 16 at the time of the Yule Ball; a lucky thing as, after breaking down in front of everyone in the Entrance Hall she had been escorted onto the Durmstrang ship. It was an outstanding piece of magic, supporting no less than 500 students underwater at all time, and with enough security to ward off Dementors, Grindylows … even the giant squid kept its distance. But the students had to only speak the password -In Bulgarian of course – and entrance would be granted. Magic would never fail to astound her. "I vant you to never be upset Mila. Vhen sad, I vill know and come make you feel happy again."_

_"But Viktor it looks so … expensive."_

_"Is old family gift. Was Prababi … Great-Grandmothers. Vish you to have it"_

_"Thank you Viktor." The misting of her eyes obviously visible to the foreign visitor, as his hand reached up to cup her face and gently stroke her cheek with his thumb._

_"vie ste mnogo tsenno za men … You are … special to me." He rumbled, the deep baritone of his voice making her melt once more with his endearing words. Although she could not for the life of her make out what he had truly said. "Vhen sad, vhen scared … I vill see." He continued, pulling from underneath his thick robes, a clear opalesque pendant. "Vill turn red vhen in danger." He said finally, tucking it back underneath his clothing and reaching for the pendant which he placed gently around her neck. Her soft, creamy neck … Her breathing faltered and her eyes drifted shut as he brushed along her collarbone. A soft growl forming in his throat made her gasp softly. "Vill vear, da?"_

_"Da, Viktor. I promise I will always wear it."_

_"Then I am happy." He said gently, contented in seeing something so special to him around her neck. He had been watching her from the moment he arrived at the Wizarding School. She had not followed him when he trained, she did not send him fan mail and arrange to deliver it 'personally', nor did she feel the need to stare at him for all hours of the day. It had been himself in fact who had initiated their relationship. He had found her hidden away in the back of the library while he was looking for somewhere to hide from his followers. He had asked her in a somewhat strained voice if she knew a good place to hide and she had told him that the stacks behind her were almost unknown. That there wouldn't be a soul who walked past her. And true to her word when his hoard turned the corner and queried his whereabouts she had lied. She had told them she hadn't seen him, and they had no reason to doubt her. After all who would ignore __**Viktor Krum!**_

_Their night did not stay innocent. He had lain with her in his room. Protecting her from the upset her classmates had caused, from the questions and the unforgiving stares. It had been the first night of many where he had found solace in her sleeping form._

_—–_

Thank you for reading this. I have been a Fanfiction writer for many years now and this is my newest project. Let me know what you think and I hope my newest project becomes fruitful.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**

I do not own Harry Potter®™. All Characters and Locations belong to J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., Bloomsbury, and Scholastic respectively. All original character are products of the author, as is the premise and plot. Copyright infringement is not intended and I make no money from posting this story.

**Additional Warning!**

This Chapter contains violence and hints or torture. Please note I do not condone any action taken against the characters of this story, but I am writing alongside the basic plot of the Harry Potter series and unfortunately these events are also written in the pages of _Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows_. I am simply manipulating them to fit this story.  
—–

The inside of their cell was nothing more than stone walls and a rough floor. Although she doubted that much luxury would have been given to the prisoners the dungeon kept. Her eyes scanned her surroundings furiously, looking for _any_ sign of weakness whether in the stone or the ground, the bars or the door hinges. Anything. But there was nothing. Her friends had long since tired themselves to exhaustion and fell asleep. She couldn't imagine how they had not stayed awake like herself. She would never_allow_ herself to sleep in somewhere like this. Where the second her guard was down she could be murdered in cold blood. Taken away from her friends. The key to survival she had always known was staying in a group. The worst always happened when they were singled out. The deaths of their friends and fellow students all happened because they were singled out and not surrounded by their fellow fighters. "Wake up … Please." She whispered, shaking her friends by their shoulders and noting how drained they look. Emotionless, faces pale and gaunt. Ron was the worst, his hair once a vibrant red now lay limp, almost grey atop his head. And Harry … Poor Harry. His face littered with tiny scratches given to him by the ground he now lay on. The scar angry and red on his forehead serving as a constant reminder as to why she had to keep her wits about her. She would not fail them. She would get them out of here. Even if she couldn't herself. Harry needed to be the one to kill _The Dark Lord._

Groaning, Hermione rose to her knees and wobbled. The unsteadiness caused only by her lack of strength. She was determined to succeed. "Alohomora!" She whispered, wand less and without her item of centering she knew that it would be far more difficult to cast even the most basic of spells. But she was Hermione Granger. She was known as the Brightest Witch of her Age. She could not let something like this stop her. "C'mon. Work!" She said, gritting her teeth and shuffling forward. She raised her wand arm up and pointed at the latch of the door, knowing from her previous escape attempts that it was magically sealed shut. "Alohomora … Alohomora! … **Alohomora!**" Over and over she spoke the incantation, _willing_ the door to open. But with no change. She sagged back against her heels and sighed. Raising a hand to her face and rubbing her tired eyes. She would not fail. She would not fail. She would no-

"Well what do we have here? An attempted escapee? Oh how quaint." A voice mocked from outside her cell. Squinting her eyes against the new flood of light that came from behind the figure, she tried to make them out. Although upon looking back, she should have known the voice well enough to understand where she was. "Oh don't stop on my account, child. I do so enjoy watching the prisoners tire themselves out. Your friends seem to have gotten the idea. All I have to do is wait for you to drift off … and my fun can begin." The low bass of the voice caused her to shiver. But she would never admit to being afraid. Never. It was not something she easily accepted – fear.

"Go to hell!" Hermione spat, glaring up from the floor as she felt her legs ache and cry out in pain from her knelt position.

"Oh it wont be me going to hell, child. Trust me. You are Two Steps from it right now. That is all. Two Steps from hell. And there is no. Way. Back." His heavy punctuation over those words chilled her to the bone.

"Malfoy! She wants the girl … _now." _A second voice hissed from behind the figure.

Hermione stifled a whimper as she scuttled backwards when the door to her prison swung open. The elder Malfoy strode in with confidence. Locking eyes with her and smirking. That damnable smirk that told her things were not going to get any better. That she would be best to run away, hide … never return. "Well we had best not keep her waiting. I do so _enjoy_ when she interrogates prisoners…" The chuckle he gave made her want to be sick, and as he reached for her he tried endlessly to fight him off. Letting out screams and cries of fear, of hatred. The noise waking her oblivious friends who, upon seeing her being whisked away tried to move to protect her. But it was too late. The door of the cell slammed back against their grasping hands and their shouts of terror. Watching as she was carried off; kicking, screaming.

For the rest of what felt like a day to the two boys, they had to listen to her screaming. Her cries of ' _Stop ' ' Help ' 'No '_ … It ripped them apart. It was not helped that the hissing voice from the hallway detailed the different tortures being inflicted on her. The favourite of which seemed to be a goblin made knife, sharper than any blade found and tipped with dark magic to never truly heal. Carving into her arms the words that would forever hang over her head. '_Mudblood ' ' Weak ' ' Worthless '_. But when they were told she would be passed to Greyback … the Werewolf it was then that their attempts to save her reached a new level. They tried to scratch the walls with their bare hands, causing bloody caloususes to form. They tried to bash the barred door open, injuring themselves and Ronald managing to dislocate his shoulder.

And then it went silent. A calm before a storm.

From the prison in the basement they could only hear shouting, banging, crashing … It sounded like there was fighting but they were kept so far from the room their friend was being held they could not confirm either way what happened. All they knew, was that they were not there to protect her.

Suddenly the door to the dungeon was thrown back against the wall along the bottom of the long room. Following it was Arthur Weasley, followed by one of the Aurors, Tonks. Her hair a dark shade of brown that reflected her foul mood at being in her extended family's presence. "My Boy! Harry" Arthur cried out, swiftly removing the door that stopped them from helping Hermione . "I thought i'd lost you." The man cried, wrapping his arms around his youngest son and pulling Harry into his embrace. But the boys did not reciprocate.

"Where is Hermione?" Harry demanded, trying desperately to rise to his feet.

"She's safe … now." Tonks said. Her tone dark, almost filled with an unnerving fury. "She'll pull through, we're sure of it."

"What happened to her, dad?" Ron asked, his eyes misting over as he thought of the girl he had grown to love after their time trying to hide from the snatchers.

"… We're not entirely sure. When we got the message from Krum we left immediately. But Kingsley just blasted all the windows in. We didn't see anything." He answered, his voice thick and almost pulling at his throat. He was not pleased with the treatment the girl he had come to accept as another daughter had endured. Given the extent of her injuries he was surprised she had not given up. But she was strong, much stronger than he had ever given her credit for. They heard Tonks growl angrily, slamming her fist into the wall and her hair turning a violent shade of red. Harry swore he could hear her muttering '_ kill her '_ but he couldn't be sure. "Come on, we need to get you boys to Headquarters. I can't imagine you've slept properly in a long time."

With that, Arthur and Tonks escorted the boys away. Grimmauld Place would be a hive of people wanting answers but for now, the priority was making sure the 3 of them got the medical attention they needed.


End file.
